Vaccine hope over cervical cancer

A new vaccine could prevent most cases of cervical cancer, says a study published today.

Each year 470,000 women worldwide are diagnosed with cervical cancer and a further 230,000 die. Studies over the past two decades confirm that the cause is certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV).

Vaccination against HPV-16 and HPV-18, the most common cancer-causing types, could prevent the development of up to 70 per cent of cervical cancers, according to the study published today in The Lancet.

Dr Diane Harper of Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire, and colleagues conducted a trial to assess the vaccine developed by drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline against HPV-16 and HPV-18.

The women were randomly selected to receive three doses of the vaccine or a placebo and followed up for 27 months. In the wake of the trial on 1,113 women, aged 15–25, from North America and Brazil, Dr Harper said: "This is the first time we have shown that there is a vaccine that protects against the only cause of a cancer and we can actually prevent 70 per cent of all cervical cancer worldwide."

Related Articles

"The vaccine could contribute substantially to reducing worldwide rates of cervical cancer. However, large-scale trials with long-term follow-up are needed to extend our findings and confirm that vaccination prevents cervical cancer."

GlaxoSmithKline is advancing the filing date for worldwide regulatory approval for its vaccine, Cervarix, from 2008 to 2006. Merck and Co Inc is working on a vaccine.

In an accompanying commentary, Matti Lehtinen and Jorma Paavonen, of the University of Helsinki, said it would not be long before a vaccine was licensed. But questions remained, such as how a national vaccination programme should be implemented, whether it should be for both sexes, and the need for booster vaccinations.